The Tabernacle Of God

We got into some thoughts the other night. I ask if there was anybody here that had a question, and of course, some did, and I wondered tonight if maybe you've got a question. I appreciate our Sister coming from over in, I believe it's up in Cleveland, Georgia. Is that correct? Are you relative to Brother James and the Sister here? Certainly glad to have you come from up there. We've got some. They're probably not here tonight. They live in that area, that come regular, or fairly regular from that area, and have been doing it for years. We've preached up in that little place, and there's some good folks in there. All right. Has somebody got a thought tonight? Do what now? Tema. Yeah. When we say that God came from Tema, I'm real familiar with it. We give__ You know, I could say to you, where did God come from? For instance, say I was over in Alabama and somebody would say, Hey, I hear that there is something going on down there and you're talking about God, that God came from, well He came from Monroe. And you say God came from Tema, see? It doesn't indicate that God came from any certain area, in that God is from everlasting. If you said, where did God come from? I would have to say He came from everlasting, because the Bible said He is from everlasting to everlasting. He hath no beginning, He hath no end. There is no beginning with God. There is no end with God. He is from everlasting to everlasting. And before the world was God said I am. Whereas, I say this so often, and we might comment a little on it tonight. To us all things must have a beginning. All things must have a beginning. Maybe we can comment a little bit on that. Maybe sometimes we can just take up the subject and really go into it. Second Corinthians, chapter five, the first verse. "(1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (6) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) (8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (9) Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ' that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (11) Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. (12) For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. (13) For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. (14) For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (15) and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. (17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (19) To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." One of these nights I'd love to elaborate on what Junior was speaking of. I'd love to bring out very clearly what I mean in God coming from Tema. Notice in the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians. This is a discussion concerning the tabernacle. The Bible speaks of the tabernacle in the wilderness. This is a discussion of the tabernacle. Now I have a tape, or two, where they have recorded some sermons and we spoke of the tabernacle. We spoke of the harlotry and how that the dust was taken from the tabernacle floor, and the significance as to what caused the reaction of those things of the Priests giving it to those people that had done wrong. And the tabernacle has great significance. Every part of it. Everything that there is to be known about it. We've brought out many, many things about the tabernacle. And the terms are used here that if our tabernacle of this building, if it be dissolved, our earthly house of this tabernacle, he says, then we have another tabernacle. And yet he uses the terms, have another; that is a building of God. A house, he says. It's not made with hands, and it's eternal in the heavens. Now the first thought that arises is: What does he mean earthly tabernacle? The only thing that he could mean is this human body. This human body that we have, because Peter uses the terms, I am in this tabernacle and God has shown me that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle. But as long as I'm in this tabernacle, he says, speaking of the angelic being as to the human angelic part, that tabernacling in a human body. God who is a great Spirit, eternal Spirit. The fullness of God tabernacled in the human body, or human person, of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there is an inner man, there is an outer man. Though the outer man perish, as to from dust to dust, the inner man is from heaven to heaven. He is Spirit and He came from heaven; He goes back to heaven. So the body, or the tabernacle is empty when the spirit departs from it. And then he speaks of another house eternal in the heavens. What kind of a house is this, as to the tabernacle that he is speaking of? It is the body of the Lord Jesus. It is the body. The Bible says, as we have born the image of the earthy, as to this earthly tabernacle, which is the first man Adam, as to His image and likeness. As we have born that, the Bible says, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly. Which means a tabernacle, or a house, or a building eternal in the heavens not made with hands. For the Bible said we are God's building. We are God's building; lively stones built up into an holy priesthood, a habitation for God. And Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone of that building, the all seeing eye, as to the pyramid and the capstone. So we see that he is talking about two different bodies. Jesus said that He went down in one body; He came up in another. Or, that is, the Scripture records that He went down in my offenses, raised again for my justification, or He went down in the image of sin and He came up in another form, as to the image of righteousness saying, touch me not for I have not yet ascended to my Father, as He said to Mary. So then, we're speaking of two tabernacles. Now, He said, if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. I brought this out the other night, that Adam and Eve was naked in the garden and the question was asked, Who told thee that thou wast naked? It's obvious here that as long as the Shekinah glory of God was upon Adam and Eve the illumination was a clothing. It made them to be in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. But just so soon as that illumination was lifted then they were embarrassed, in that they did not have the covering of God, as to the illumination of the image in which they were made, for the were made in the image of God. They had lost the image of His covering. So on down through the Scriptures you find the prophet speaking, and the prophet being aware of this, as to the spiritual things, he says, You cover with a covering but not of me. That is God said to the prophet, You have a covering, but not of me. Or that is, He said to the angelic inner being, as to the angelic inner man, He said, You have a covering. You have a bodily tabernacle. You have a bodily covering. He could have said, But it is the skins that I covered you with when I found you naked. For the Bible said that He made coats of skin and covered them. And today the angelic man, as to the symbolic meaning there, is still covered with coats of skin. You, as an angelic being on the inside, the one that is referred to as the inner man, you have an outer garment of a human form, which is skin like a beast, which is flesh, which is blood. And the Bible said that Satan savors the things that be of the flesh because that is his covering. It is his covering. The beast covering is his covering. Because he enter into the beast in the garden he accepted it as a covering and then he brought man down to his level. He kept working against man until he brought man down to his level, as to a beast level, and took them out of the heavenly dimension of that activation, or illumination of God. They therefore lost their image and likeness of the Heavenly Father, as to the image in which they were made. So that's why the Bible said no man has seen His image at any time. But we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is for having born the image of the earthy, having been clothed with a covering that is not of Him, therefore we shall put on the tabernacle, as to the body and flesh of the Lord Jesus, as to the covering, the garment, or the clothing which is His body. For the Bible said, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no appropriations here for the flesh. Then we find that we are challenged to present to God a garment that has been tried in the fire. He said, if you come into my presence in that bodily garment of that human form, which is that which is infiltrated with the powers of Lucifer. If you come in with that dirty garment, He said, you'll be bound hand and feet. If you come into the light of this morning, as to the fact that God created from evening until morning, you have been in the evening, as to the fall, from the time that you fell in the garden and been going into the night. And though Calvary is the breaking of the morning, as to the coming of the Daystar, yet it does not dawn in your heart until the day that you can comprehend it. And of course, every generation has to be born into the world before they can even acknowledge a Calvary. So down at this time of life some come and acknowledge Calvary, and as we go on to comprehend the height, the depth, the width, and the length of the great wonderful mystery of God, the understanding of the revelation of Jesus Christ and we come to the place to where we realize that we are in a dirty garment. As it was said of Joshua, take away the dirty garment, God said to the angel. Clothe him with new garments. And the Bible says, old things having passed away, behold all things are new. He said, Zion, put on your beautiful garment. Put on your beautiful garment. That is, put you on the Lord Jesus Christ. As an angelic being put on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore by faith in God, by being baptized into Christ, we have been baptized into His body. We have put on Christ for the Bible says as many as has been baptized into Christ they have put on Christ, and in that they have been baptized into the Lord they have put on the body of the Lord Jesus and their body, the old garment, has now been taken away. At death the spirit went back to God who gave it and the old garment was buried in the watery grave and as in the resurrection, as to the new man Christ Jesus, the new form, we are now bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. We are now in a new world, in a new dimension with a new mind. We've got a new body; we are a new creature in Christ. Old things have passed away, and behold, all things are made new. And the Bible said, For he that new no sin was made our sin, even our sinful body, as to the image of sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ, which is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And man coming in before God, as to the supper of the feast of our charity, the Bible said, not having on the wedding garment (That is, not having on the Lord Jesus Christ.) shall be bound hand and feet and cast into the outer darkness. That is to say, out of the light of understanding of the mind of Christ into the intellectual reasoning of those damnable things that Lucifer brings, in that he is the prince of darkness. He is the ruler of the darkness. He is the power of the air, as to intellectual reasoning, theory and education. Or, Paul used the terms, science falsely so-called. All right. So we see here that what he is saying is, there is a body, a covering. We preached on this, as to the covering Cherubs. And then we preached on this, as to His covering. Covering with a covering but not of Me. He said, You cover with a covering, that is as the beast you are. The angelic man is covered with that because of Lucifer in the fall, he said, but I have a covering. And he could have said, my covering is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. You cover with a covering. Your angelic being has on a covering, and it is an intellectual veil of darkness of death. But I have a covering which is a Shekinah light. And this Shekinah light is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, in that the God is the great light, and that light was made flesh, and we beheld the flesh as the body of the Son of God in which God Himself tabernacled. We could say just so much concerning that tonight. But at different times, or in different sermons, they've done this recording on certain tapes when we've spoke of it as to the light and as to the darkness. So we see here that we are speaking of the tabernacle. Now, if I had the time tonight I could preach a sermon on this. It would take me all night. No doubt in my mind it would take me all night long just to preach a sermon on the tabernacle, because there are so many things involved. Great is the mystery of godliness. But just staying with a few thoughts here, as to the tabernacle. See? He says here that God has given us the earnestness of the Spirit. That is, He has already placed His Spirit within our heart, and we have this earnestness. If I was going to by a car I'd give some earnest money. See? This is the earnestness of the Spirit. He has already done this for us that we might hold on to this, that in a coming day__ He said, being burdened in this tabernacle we groan, because within the flesh there is no good thing. He said, But it isn't that we want to be unclothed. That is, we don't want to die. We don't want to give up our body. He said, but we do want to be clothed upon with our house from heaven that mortality, as to this mortal body, might be swallowed up with immortality. That this mortal might be swallowed up with immortality. Or this terrestrial might become Celestial. That this body here might be changed all together into that eternal body that Satan has no power over, or that cannot live in, that we might be at peace. Because as long as we are in this body then there is a continual warfare between the body and the spirit, because we are walking by faith, not by sight. So he says then, we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. He said, Though we be absent from God, he said, we still have a confidence. John said in doing the things that please God, hereby we find this blessing that we have confidence and receive what we ask of Him. Having this confidence because we do the things that please Him. So then, he said, we have this confidence, but as long as we are home in the body we are absent from the Lord. See? Now, he said, I had rather be absent from the body and be present with the Lord. And if you remember, he made the statement on one occasion, he said, whether in the body, or out of the body, he said, I cannot tell. He said, But I do know of such a one that was caught up to the third heaven, he said, and he saw things that was not permissible for him to speak. Being caught up to the third heaven he saw these things, but, he said, I do not know whether it was in the body, or out of the body. So then, we do know this, he said, whether in the body, or out of the body I can't tell. He said, but one thing I can tell, that while we are here present in the body we are absent from God. We are absent from God. If we be in the body we are absent from God. Or that is to say, if you were in the flesh you couldn't please God, because they that are in the flesh cannot please God. They are absent from God if they be in the flesh. But here if we be in the body, as to tabernacling in the body, not in the flesh in that we've withdrawn from the flesh. And Paul is saying, I keep under my body. I bring my body into subjection. That is, my spirit withdraws from my body. It inwardly withdraws and it is under my body to the extent it is not active within my body. And I put a bridle on the body, and from within the Kingdom of God within, as to the inner man, I control the outer man. I keep a reign on the outer man. I keep control of the outer man. And I bring the outer man into the subjection to the inner man's desire, as to God's Kingdom, less after I preach to others I, myself, should become a cast away. So then, we see that we're speaking of two bodies here. There are two bodies. There are two tabernacles. One is the tabernacle of Lucifer. One is the tabernacle of God. And some people cover themselves with a tabernacle. They have a covering. If we had time to get into the covering cherubs we could explain that better. But having a covering, He said, it is not of Me. It is not the body of the Lord. It is not the garment of God. It is not the illumination from heaven. It is not bone of My bone and flesh of My flesh, as to word and spirit that is light, or life. He said, it is not the illumination of God. It is an understanding and it is a light, but it is a dark light. It is an intellectual reasoning. It is scientist, knowledge, worldly knowledge. Falsely so-called, it is knowledge, because they are ever learning and they never come to the knowledge of the truth. So they really don't ever learn what they need to know, and that is the truth about God. Coming to a truth knowledge. All right. So then, we see here that he says we are glad. We are glad with this confidence, that while we are at home in the body we are absent from God. But we are still glad with this confidence that He still loves us. We have the earnestness of His Spirit, and that someday the purchased possession will show forth. For the purchased possession is the tabernacle from heaven. That's why he speaks of God's building, God's house. You are the temples of the living God. The Bible says, the man that defileth that temple him shall God destroy. So then, you are the temples of the living God and God walks within you and God talks within you, and you are the tabernacle of God in the earth. That's why the Bible uses the terms over in the book of Revelation. It says, the tabernacle of God is with man. That is, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ is now among men, for until Calvary was the law and the prophets. Since Calvary now has come the Kingdom and men have been preaching the Kingdom of God, and men have been pressing their way into the Kingdom of God. Or that is, the inner man, the angelic man, has moved by faith into the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God has been set up on the inside of your heart, because the Kingdom of God is not something tangible that you can reach out and feel, or it's not going to be out here in Georgia, or over in California. It's not going to be something that's of observation in the earth, because the Bible said that the Kingdom of God cometh not by observation. You'll never see the Kingdom of God by looking with your little ole eye nerves, as to twenty-two conductive nerves from the eye to the brain. You're never going to see that. Even the brightness of the coming of the Lord, just as to the vision, made Paul go blind. He couldn't even so much as look on the light. And the Bible speaks of the coming of the great light when heaven shall pass away, when earth shall pass away, and the sea shall pass away, and everything shall pass away. There is no possible way for you to see God, as the great light with your natural eyes. God is the light. The Bible says He is the great light unto which no man can approach whom no man has seen, nor can see. And Jesus Christ alone dwelling in the light, He, He hath immortality. So then, if I'm bone of His bone, if I'm flesh of His flesh then I dwell in the light with God. I'm one with Jesus and I dwell in the light with God, and heaven and earth shall pass away and all shall pass away, but My Word, He said. And if I'm one with the Word, one with Jesus, then I'm in the light. I am of the light. I am born of the light. I'm part of the light. I'm in the light and I cannot pass away because I'm eternal. So then, we can see that the light of God is understanding, and I am transformating into the great light, and this bodily image, as flesh, profiteth nothing. It is the bastard image and it must pass away. And from the dust it came and to the dust it shall return. But there is a heavenly tabernacle. There is a body of the Lord Jesus Christ as to the bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh, and that body is eternal in the heavens. It's called God's building that is eternal in the heavens and it shall never pass away. And as we have born the image of the earthly, so shall we be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, at the coming of the Lord Jesus when He shall descend from heaven with a shout, the trump, the voice of the Archangel. The Bible says the dead in Christ shall rise. We which are alive and remain shall be changed and together we shall be caught up to met the Lord Jesus in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord. So we see a great thing that God is doing. While as yet I'm in this tabernacle I groan and I moan. That is the inner man. I don't know what to pray for. The Bible said that you don't know what to pray for. Paul said, I don't know what to pray for. With my earthly lips I don't know what to pray for. A lot of people say, I pray, Brother Pike, I pray. Like the Pharisees. Like the Scribes. Like the Sadducees. Like them of old, all of them that were praying with their lips, they loved the salutations in the marketplace. They loved to make long prayers. They wanted to be seen of men. They like to be called Rabbi. See? But the Bible said concerning the saint of God, said, we don't know what to pray for, but the Spirit on the inside, the spirit searching the mind of God on the inside, the Spirit maketh intercession. That's what Christ is; He was an intercessor. He came into my heart to intercede between my human body and between my spirit and God's Spirit. So then, he said, the spirit on the inside maketh intercession with groans and moans that cannot be uttered. It searcheth the heart of the spirit and it knoweth what I have need of. I say, Oh, God! Oh, God! I'm hungry. I want you to feed me. Lord, I feel like I need a real good meal, and the Spirit says, Oh, God! Oh, God! he need a three day fast. Do you understand what I'm saying? So the spirit on the inside it is crying one thing and the flesh is crying another, because within my flesh there is no good thing in that I am in the world, as to the natural part of me, and you are in the world, as to the natural part of you. And Satan savors the things that be of the flesh. So then, Satan is pressing you trying to trample down the mind of humanity and he's pressing you. Suppressing you all the time. All the time, and you're like a computer our of control. (Begin tape one, side two.) .....thoughts all the time going through your mind. You never rest day nor night. If you go to sleep at night it still don't stop. It's just going into dreams, or all kind of weird things. See? You're like a thinking machine. All the time it's thoughts. Satan is constantly warring against your human mind and it's all out of control. So then, this creates a real problem, as to a continual warfare between the body and the Spirit. Like the tract we wrote years ago; they call it Continual Warfare. There is a continual warfare between the inner man and the outer man. So the inner man is crying out. Christ is crying through your inner man, and He's crying out, as to the need of your salvation, as to the need of your eternal security, as to the need of your comforts, of your joy, of your peace and your blessings from God. But the flesh is constantly crying out. Like in the garden when the flesh tried to cry out and it said, Oh, Lord, let this cup pass from me. And then the inner man cried out, Nevertheless, not what I will, but Thy will, Father, be done. See? And this is what we're suppose to do. We feel a little pain, we feel a little misery, we go through a few heartaches and we cry out, Oh, my God! why hast Thou forsaken me? Lord, don't You remember me? I prayed. I'm Your child; I've done everything You've told me. I've tried to live right. Oh, my God! Oh, my God! And we're just finding fault with God continually. Instead of on the inside just committing ourself to God and saying, Oh, my God! My God! Lord, not my will but Thy will be done. Lord, I know that You know best. If this kills me, still Your will be done, Lord, no matter what it is. But, see? We just can't bear that. A little pain, a little discomfort of life, a few little inconveniences and we just have a terrible, terrible time. Well, anyway, this is what I'm speaking of. While we are in this tabernacle we groan. We groan because Satan is suppressing us. We have pains. We have miseries. Few days and full of trouble, Solomon said. We can't seem to get our bearings. We can't seem to be whole and healthy. We can't seem to be well, in that the Bible said many are the afflictions of the righteous. But there is one thing for sure. If we believe God, if we trust God, if we don't doubt, if we hold on to God all things have got to work together for good to them that love the Lord, and those that are called according to His purpose. If we hold on to God, if we don't doubt, if we just hold on to God it's got to come out right. There's no way for it to come out wrong; it's got to come out right. God will deliver. God will heal. God will help. It's as I was telling Brother Billy here not too long ago. Billy was in some wretched circumstances. He really had problems. He couldn't do what he wanted to, in a confinement, and talking to him by phone I said, Bill, it doesn't matter. I said, If you hold on to God it's got to come out right. Isn't that right, Billy. I said, it's got to come out right. Well, you know, when you're in a confinement and you're in those kind of things, I've told many people this and it came out right. Today they're free people. See? And I told them, I said, you've got to hold on to God. But when you're in the confinement, when you're having the sickness, when you've got the problems and everything is going wrong, see? It don't sound too good. I could say, Bill, hold on and believe God. God will bring you out of your problems, you know. And Billy could have said, Well, I don't know about that. It's easy for you to say that; you're out here, out there and I'm over here. See? Of course, Billy didn't know, but I have problems, too. See? I say, Bill, you pray for me; I pray for you. Billy say, I pray for you. I say, I pray for you, Bill. Everything's going to be all right. Tonight everything's fine. Bill has saw it work. Numbers of times he's seen this. You've seen it work. And no matter what the circumstances might be, it might be a financial dilemma, it might be a physical problem, it could be a family problem, it could be a social problem, it could be any kind of problem, a mental problem, it could be some kind of a nerve problem that's just pressing the life out of you, but if you trust God, if you commit yourself to God and trust God and say, Lord, it doesn't matter if I die, I die. I believe what you said. You know, this is faith, folks. It's just like it was said concerning the Hebrew children when they were in the fire. See? When they went to put them in the fire the Hebrew children turned to the King and said, Be it known unto thee, O King, we are not going to bow down to you. See? He said, You're going to bow down to me. All of the land is going to bow down to me. I've commanded it. He said, They said, Not so, King; we're not going to bow down to you. We're going to serve the true and the living God, and we're not going to bow down to you. And the King was wroth and they heated that furnace up, even hotter than it had ever been to bring seven times hotter. And then they threw them into the fire, but just before they went in they had this testimony. They said, Oh, King, the God that we serve He's able to deliver us, and if He doesn't deliver us we'll serve Him anyway. And into the fire they went, and then the Bible said that is when they saw the fourth man in the fire. Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, and then they looked and they said, but I see a fourth man. Said, did not we throw three down into the fiery furnace? But, said, I see a forth man, and I see all of them loose, walking around. Said, they were bound when we threw them in there. Said, and that forth one, said, he is like unto the Son of God. So then, there it was. Out of the furnace came the Hebrew children. And the Bible said that even the smell of smoke wasn't on their garments. And their faith was so great that this ole King said, I'll tell you one thing. He said, I believe in this God. They've convinced me. Said, I believe in this God and said, I'll tell you something. He said, Everyone that won't worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he said, I'll turn their house into a dung hill. Said, that's the way I feel about it. And, you know, I thought about that a number of times. Paul said, I count all my learning as dung. And did you know that God has held that so thorough that everyone that doesn't serve the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego He turns their house into a dung hill. So we speak of this house right here. You may have either the tabernacle of God, as the fourth man in the fire with that beautiful raiment of God like unto the Son of God, the illumination of Him that shall outshine the noonday sun, or else you have that little ole tabernacle that is a dung hill. For God has turned everything into a dung hill that doesn't worship the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. So then, we see faith. Faith. That's the way faith works. See? Faith works this way. It's when you say, that's the way it is; ain't going to be no other way. You know, a lot of times we don't get what we want from God because we say, Oh, Lord, heal me. Oh, God, heal me. And we're begging and pleading all the time. Whereas there's nothing wrong with that; it's fine. Pray all you want to. Ask God all you want to. Call on Him day and night. God will hear you. God will hear you. But the thing is, we keep saying, Oh, God, heal me. Oh, God, help me. Lord, I've got to have help. Lord, don't you care about me? Lord, look at me. Lord, my problems, my problems. Don't you remember where Jesus told them over there? They said, Lord, teach us to pray. Don't you remember when he said, Come before me and say, Oh, God, my problems? Oh, my problems. Oh, my problems. Don't you remember Him saying that? You don't remember Him saying that, do you? That's not the way it's written in the book. Well, why do we pray like that, folks? Why do we pray like that? He said, Pray, our Father who art in Heaven. Acknowledge that He is the Heavenly Father. That's the first step. Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. He said, Come to me and glorify my name. Don't be talking about your problems. Tell me how great I am, because the more that you magnify God in your heart the greater that you are in power, because God is a spirit. And the more you magnify God in your heart the greater, more powerful you are. So He said, Pray, our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. That is, Your kingdom has come in the earth. The law and the prophets until John; since that time the kingdom has been preached and men press their way into it. And Jesus said to some, You're not far from the kingdom of God. So then, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done. Not my will, Father, but Thy will. Thy kingdom come into my heart. Thy kingdom come into the earth, for the kingdom of God is with you. Let Your kingdom come into my heart that Your will be done. That is: what is Your kingdom, Father. The mind of Christ. The Spirit of Christ. Let the mind of Christ come. Let the Spirit of Christ, the desire of Christ, the things of Christ, the zeals, the activities of Christ, the desire of Christ, let it come into my heart. Thy kingdom come, Father. Thy will be done. Not my will, but Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven. And Jesus went on to explain to them the manner in which they should pray. Not that they should repeat the words that He said, but the manner in which they should pray. So a lot of people never get what they won't from God because they don't know now to approach God. The Bible said come boldly before the throne of grace. Boldly. You know, not coming before God and saying, Oh, my God! Oh, my God! help me. Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Not like that. But come boldly before the throne of God. You know, the righteous is as bold as a lion. The Bible said the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous is a bold as a lion. So then, come boldly before the throne of God. Come before the throne, not having done anything wrong, and yet not trusting in your merits, not trusting in your righteousness. That's where our boldness comes from. If I had to go before God in boldness trusting in my merits, I'd never be able to make it, because I stumble, I stagger, I make mistakes. I blunder. Even at my very best, though I try to be as perfect as I know how, in my mind and in my heart, in every way, as to the intent and reflects of my mind, but still we stumble and we stagger at our very best. See? but my boldness is in God. I come boldly before the throne of God and I say, Heavenly Father, I need help. I thank you, Father. I know that You hear me always, Jesus said. I do that, I don't go before God saying, Oh, my God, Lord, I wanted something, now I know I can't have it. Lord, I've done stumbled. I staggered. Lord, I made a mistake. God, I guess it'll never be. Lord, give me five more years. Lord, let me fast at least three more days. Father, work with me; don't call me now. I need two more weeks. I don't do that. I go before God and I think like this: Lord, You said He that is born of God cannot sin. Lord, You kept me from sinning by Your righteousness and by Your grace. And, Lord, You said the wicked one toucheth him not. He is sealed by the Spirit of God, and the wicked one toucheth him not, because he keepeth himself. That is, by faith of the grace of God, and confidence in God he keeps himself and the devil never penetrates that shield of faith. He is sealed. He is born of God. The seed of God remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. And I say, Now, Lord, this is in my heart. I'm sealed. I come to You. Lord, You know my staggerings, stumblings. That is to say, not that I have sinned, O God, but because of my trespasses. Heavenly Father, forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me, for God has fixed it to where we cannot sin. Neither did he tell them to pray for the forgiveness of sins. He told them to pray, Father, forgive us our trespasses. Said, for you forgive not men their trespasses from your heart, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. If you have ought, that is your brother ought against you. That is, not to say that he is upset with you, but if he can prove his point that you've mistreated him. Then go thy way and be reconciled to thy brother and then bring thy gift and God will receive thy gift. But if you've offended somebody and a man has got ought against you, to the extent that he can prove that you've done him wrong, there's no need to go to God and offer God anything. You're going to have to get it right, because you've got to forgive your brother and sister of their trespasses. He said, when you pray, he said, then believe. Don't try to pray and not believe. It's not going to do you any good to pray and say, God, heal me. God, I'm sick. God, I've got problems. You're going to have to pray and believe, just like you're going to have to watch and pray to escape the snares of Lucifer. You can pray all you want to but if you don't watch, you can watch all you want to but if your don't pray the devil is going to get you. So you must believe when you pray. And the Bible said forgive. When you stand praying forgive. If you have ought against any man forgive them, he said, and then say what you will and it will be done unto you. Say what you will and it will be done unto you. Don't let little things come in to hinder your prayers. And the Bible said if you commit a wrong, in the sense of stumbling and staggering, not that you willfully went out and done wrong, but you're trying to do your best and you got tripped up. The Bible said happy is he that doth not condemn himself in that thing which he allowed. That is, if you want to keep you joy remember you are purified by faith. God's Spirit comes into your heart by faith. So when you're doing your best and you know that you're doing your best and you didn't mean to offend anybody, you didn't mean to hurt anybody, and all of a sudden this thing comes up and you did it, don't get upset just make it right as best you can, and go on and say, Heavenly Father, I was doing my best. I love you and there is not a mark against me; You took that thing away. But bear in mind one thing, that if you do carelessly go and do something when you know better, you are a child of God and you're going to be chastened for it. God is going to chastise you, because those that He loves He chastens. Jesus, though He was a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things that He suffered for our sake. Now, let's look at it again. Faith? Why is it that we don't get what we want while we're in this tabernacle? The simple reason is because we don't approach God right. We should approach God very boldly in the righteousness of the Son of God, giving glory to God by what He hath done for us. The Jews, having the Word of God, not mixed with faith, the Bible said it did not profit those that had it. So then, the Word of God, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and for ever, to a thousand generations. I want to show you something. When Jesus came before the Heavenly Father this is the way that Jesus came. He walked up to the tomb of Lazarus and when He walked up to the tomb of Lazarus He looked up toward Heaven and He said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. I know that Thou hearest me always. Lazarus come out of the grave. Do you see the difference? We would have walked up there and said, Oh, my God! He's dead; by now he stinks. Lord, there is no possible way to get him out but, dear Lord, we're going to pray all night and maybe You'll hear us. Come on, let's give Him a hand. That was the difference in faith, folks. That was the way Jesus operated. The Bible said follow in His steps. Follow in His steps. That's the way He did it. See? When the man came and said, My servant he's at home sick. Jesus said, I'll go heal him. I'll just come right over and heal him. Can you imagine that? Aw, somebody would have said, wait a minute. Who do you think you are? Now, I want you to come over to my house and if you pray we might get God to hear us. He didn't say that. And somebody says, What do you mean, you're going to heal him? God is the healer. He didn't say that. Do you know why that He didn't talk the way that we do a lot of times? It's because He was the Word. When we get to be the Word, when we get to know the Word, when we get to understand the Word. Jesus said to abide in the Word and have the Word abide in you, you ask what you will; I'll do it. See? Jesus said, You go heal the sick. I give unto you power over all the powers of the enemy. He didn't say that I'm going to be power over all the powers of the enemy every time you call on me, though we know that's the way it works, but He said, I'm going to live inside of you. You command thou Me, concerning the works of My hands. And He said, You decree a thing in your heart and it shall come to pass. He said, You say what you will and don't doubt and nothing shall be impossible unto you. So His way was: I'll come and heal him. And when He walked up to heal somebody, like when they met Jesus on the road and the man was pleading for the life of his little child and they said, no need, no need; he's dead. Jesus said, don't let that bother you. That hasn't got nothing to do with it. Oh, they said, but, but the child is dead. And they laughed Him to scorn. But Jesus said, That has nothing to do with it at all. He just put them out of the room. He walked in there, He spoke and the little maid rose up. He said, Give her something eat. Do you understand what I'm saying? His way was this. His way was positive. There was never any negative thoughts about Jesus. He didn't go around saying, Heaven Father, will You do this? Or, Heavenly Father, will You do that? He went around saying, I thank You, Heavenly Father, for Thou hearest me always. Glorify Thy name, Heavenly Father. And He would say to the lame, Be made whole. Or he would say to the blind, Receive your sight. He didn't pray and say, Oh, Heavenly Father, if You see fit would You do this, and we know if it's Your will would You do this, and we don't know. You know, we've got to find out whether, or not it's Your will, cause I don't know whether this man is living right, or whether he's living bad. He didn't do that. He didn't do that. The rain is on the just and the unjust. He knew that the love of God was in the earth. He went about doing good, healing all that was oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. He required one thing and that was all. Just one thing. He didn't try to find out whether they were righteous, or whether they were not righteous. The Bible said, All have gone astray, all have turned unto their own way. All of the nations is as nothing to Me. He said, they're altogether unprofitable. He said, There is none good, no not one. So when He started to healing, or trying to help people He wasn't trying to find out who was good. He was just saying, I'm the righteousness of God. They said, What must we do to work the works of God. You know, we want this kind of faith. He said, I am the works of God. I'm the works of God. He said, what I'm looking for is faith. He said, Will you believe that I am He? If you don't you'll die in your sins. That is, do you believe what I'm saying? Do you believe? Jesus said, if you believe that takes care of righteousness, because through faith in My works the Spirit of God will come into your heart and purify your heart. And thus you are righteous in the sight of God and your faith has made you whole. That's all that He required. And, folks, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, that's all that He requires today. For we are a bunch of religious ritualistics, whether Catholic, or Pentecostal, Baptist, or Methodist, or Charismatics, or whatever. We've become a mess in the sight or God, trusting in our own works of righteousness and looking unto our own way of life and running as one that beateth the air, and going forth without a knowledge of God, and trusting in our way instead of His way. The Bible said, in that day we must be found having not our own righteousness, which is as works of filthy rags, but the righteousness which is of God, even Christ Jesus. He that knew no sin was made sin, my sin, that I might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And I'm going to say this in closing. It's like yesterday. I was discussing something with a man about long hair and the issue arose about long hair. And, somebody says, What do you think, Brother Pike? I think that you should have long hair, as a woman. As a man, the Bible says it's a shame unto you. If the woman's hair be chopped off, then the Bible says that's all the same as if she were shaven, because her hair is given her for a covering. We spoke of the covering. The covering of His glory. The woman's hair represents the glory. It is her glory, like the strength of a young man. If he's stripped of his strength, as was Samson, his glory is gone. That is his strength. Every star differeth in glory. As to the glory of God, it's a another thing altogether. So when we talk about long hair__ I told the individual, I said, Brother, I said, we strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. I said, The Bible said blind leaders of the blind, if the blind lead the blind they all fall into the ditch. I said, Pentecostal women will run around, their hair, as we say, down to their waist and they wouldn't stick a pair of scissors to it for nothing and they'll run with their dresses up above their knees. I said, Do you think that God had rather they have long hair than long dresses? Let's give Him a hand. The Bible said God covered them with skins, coats of skins. And the Bible said, When He stood in the midst of the candlesticks His garment was down to His ankle. That's straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Somebody says, Well, Brother Pike, then you don't believe it's wrong to cut the hair. I certainly do not. I don't preach against a woman cutting her hair, because I don't have any Bible for it. The Bible said that he that God sendeth will speak God's word, and there is no Bible. If you can show it to me, I challenge anybody anywhere in the world to show it to me in the Bible. It's not in the Bible. There's one thing that is in the Bible and that says that a woman should have long hair. And I believe that when a woman doesn't have long hair it represents rebellion, as to her husband because it represents the government. And as I've said a lot of times, many pentecostal women will have hair way down to their waist and they pone it up on top of their head. It's no more covering, it could never represent a covering. They might as well not have any hair. They pone it up on top of their head and, as allegorically speaking, they pop the bobby pins in, which very definitely indicates, or represents the crucifixion, as to the thorns in the head of Him, as to His glory. But, anyway, six of one, half a dozen of another, as Brother Branham used to say. I say that a woman should have long hair, and the Bible said the government, as to representing the church, shall be upon His shoulder. And if you're going to have long hair you need to have it down on the shoulder. That's what it's all about. And if your not going to have it on your shoulder what difference does it make whether you've got it or not. Somebody says, Well, I think it makes a difference. All right. What would somebody say, and this don't sound too decent, but I don't mean it indecent. What if everybody went around with their dress poned up on top of their head, would it make any difference whether it was long or short? The same way with a man's pants. If they were rolled slap up to his waistline up here, would that do any good? What would that be? So then, there is a difference. If God said long hair then it should be long. That's the way it should be. It should be if a woman trims her hair__ You know, you say a woman's hair is her glory. You see a woman over here and part of her hair way up here and part of her hair way down there, she needs to get it together. She needs to work something out to keep from looking like a witch. So I say we need a little common sense. It's like fingernails. I've seen them. I've actually seen them they actually must have at least been two inches long and looked like claws. I'm not exaggerating. It must have been at least two inches long out from the finger. It could have been longer than that. See? That is absolutely ignorance. People need to cut their toe nails. They need to cut their finger nails. They need to trim their hair, and especially men. They need to do some trimming on theirs. So I'm saying this. You know, speaking__ Somebody said how did you get off of faith on hair? Well, it all goes together. And I'm just saying this, that we represent the church. We should act like the church. We should be like the church. We should live according to godliness. And when it comes to the glory of God, whether we represent it in the natural, or whatever, we should show it that way. And in doing the things that please God there is a confidence that arises within our heart that is called confidence. This is the confidence that we have in God that whatever we ask of Him then God will give it to us. See? The covering? We need a covering. The women need to cover their bodies. The men need to cover their bodies. And the woman needs long hair because of the angels, and all of these things will cause us to have a confidence to come boldly before the throne of grace. That's all that we can do. It is not in these things that we trust, as to virtue. Nor in these things that we trust, as to the righteousness of God. Because it is in God we trust, but these things are required of us, as to conformity, as to prove to God that we want to be like Him that we may build the confidence in our heart, as to call that that is called faith in that we do the things that please Him. Then do we have this confidence in God that whatever we ask of God we receive of God because we do the things that please Him. All right. Let's say just a few more words here to clarify what I'm saying. So when it comes to faith in God, when it comes to the covering. That is, of this tabernacle, as to whether it is represented by the hair as to the glory, or whatever, this covering, this tabernacle, though we be in it, though we groan, though we make mistakes, though we stumble, we go boldly before the throne of grace trusting in His righteousness, and believing that we are no more in this tabernacle in that it is dead. It is buried. It is in the water. It is gone, and now by faith in God, God sees us through predestination out of the end of the journey as bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh, and will not deny us anything because we are the son of God. We are members of the body in particular. We are His children. So then, Jesus' approach was positive. Nothing negative. It was positive. God has given unto us the power. He has given unto us the glory, as to the covering of the Shekinah that we have no sin in His sight. That we are cut off from sin and the iniquity of darkness and death has been eradicated by the brightness of the illumination of God and the middle wall of partition. As to that veil of death it's now gone and God, we are one with Him. So then, when we approach faith we approach it in the positive way. Positive. Not this kind of thing where somebody writes a book and they speak about being positive. You know, positive and negative. And they preach about this things of thinking positive. It is utterly impossible for any human being to think positive except through the mind of Christ. There is nothing positive. Everything, even the man that wrote the book is negative. See? There is no positive thinking except in Christ. All of that is vanity and vexation of the spirit. See? Positive. To be positive is to be one with Christ, the mind of Jesus Christ. It is positive. It is the Word that is unaltered in heaven or in earth. It is the same to every generation; yesterday, today and forever. I'm going to close in just a few minutes. So then, to be positive, to never be negative. To be negative is to get into the mind of Satan. To get into the human mind. To lean to your own understanding. That is being negative. Anytime you get into the human mind ( Begin tape two, side one.) you're negative. You're not suppose to be negative. You're suppose to be in the mind of Christ, bringing every thought into subjection to the obedience, or to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So then, Jesus was positive. He said, I give unto you power over all the powers of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. He said, You go heal the sick. You cleanse the leper. You raise the dead. You do these things. Someone would say, Bless God, why don't we do it? Because of unbelief. I said the other night and I'm going to say this again. Some people say, Well, Brother Pike, it don't make no difference whether you believe or not, God will heal. That is not true. The Bible said, Many mighty works He could not do because of their unbelief. It doesn't matter what kind of transformer you've got on this pole out here, and how powerful it is, if there is no living receptacle, as to receiving the light at the filament; it's burned out, there will be no light, irregardless to the power, we say. So then, we need to be positive. If you want your healing, you know, you're not suppose to always be begging, Oh, Lord, heal me. Because you did that yesterday and you did that the day before, and you did that the day before. You did that the month before. And somebody would say, Well, bless God, I've been doing it for years and I still ain't got my healing. I'll tell you something, you do it for then more years and you still ain't going to have your healing. Why is that? Because it has to be, as you would say in school. If you were doing to school it would have to be in the possessive. You have to bring it into the realms of the possessive, as a word that's in the possessive. That is, it's got to be something that is past tense, to the extent of the finished work. And then you've got to accept it as in the possessive for it to be effective in your life. For if you keep thinking and asking, as to a future event, it will always be a future event and you will never be partakers of it. You've got to realize that all of these things that pertain unto life have already been given to you. The Bible says, for God has given unto you all things that pertain unto life and nothing shall be impossible unto him that believe. That it is already a package in Calvary. Your righteousness, your healing, all power over the enemy, including death, to live eternal. You have all power. It's already yours. You're already the sons of God. You are already bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh, because all of this is given to us in the mind of God. And it is being manifested daily as to generation to generation who will believe it. So then, you've got to think positive. You've got to be in the positive. You've got to be in the possessive. You've got to put the other in past tense. You've got to say it's back there, God did it. By His stripes I was healed, and I'm happy and I'm rejoicing because the old carnal mind is going to say, Praise God, I was healed. When is it coming. Lord, I know it's coming, Lord. I believe it. See? And you've done exactly nothing. You've got to convince that heart that's desperately wicked above all things; who can believe it? All things, who can know it. You've got to have confidence. Hereby persuading your heart. You've got to convince your heart that truly at Calvary He became your sin and that was where, as Daniel said, the Messiah made an end of sin. Your sin. And today you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, born of the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, passed from death unto life, keeping yourself and the evil one toucheth you not, that you are, by His grace, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. You've got to believe that or you're not saved. Somebody would say, Well, that's fine. But I'm talking about people that are now saved. You've got to believe that that thing is gone; the warfare is over. If you ever get your healing you've got to believe it the same way. It's got to be in the past. You've got to be healthy and whole right nor. Somebody says, But, Brother Pike, I'm dying with cancer. Can I say that I'm healthy and whole? Why I would be lying, someone would say. Not if you believed it, because you would be healthy and whole. How could you be lying? See? For the very minute you believe in what happened before Calvary, or at Calvary was effective in your life. The Bible said calling those things that are not as though they are. You may not be healthy. You may be as it is not, but when you say, I am weak, the Bible said let him that is weak say that I am strong. Is he then lying? No. He's confessing the Word of God. And let him be strong. Is he then strong? Sure he's strong. If he confesses it as believing and speaking from his heart, confession from the heart. And God is the High Priest of our confession. He said, let him confess that he is strong and be strong in the power of My might. He said, And when you've done all that you can to stand, stand anyway. When you say, Well, I just don't know nothing else to do. I can't do nothing. My, God! I'm going crazy. Just stand and say, Praise God! I'm not crazy. I'm just as sane as I could be. Everything is taken care of; it don't matter what it looks like out there. Somebody says, But, I'm dying, Brother Pike, with cancer. But the Bible says by His stripes you were healed. Now, somebody said, Well, that person died anyway with cancer, whether by His stripes he was healed, or whatever? What have you got to say about that? Well, it's real clear. He never did get his healing. Let's give him a hand. Oh, somebody said, now wait a minute. What do you mean? I mean if I put a thousand dollars in the bank for you and you never did bother to draw it out you could die a pauper, but that doesn't mean the thousand dollars wasn't there. And neither does that mean the Word of God is of none effect. See? A lot of people are going to hell, but why are they going to hell? The Bible said it's not my will that any should perish, not even the wicked, but that they should repent and have everlasting life. So, see? The life is there. I've got the life whether they get it or not. They could have had it if they wanted to believe, but they wouldn't believe. Oh, somebody says, I believe. You couldn't believe and act like the devil. There's no way. You believe there is a God. The devils believe there is a God, but I'm talking about faith. The difference between believing and having faith. All right. I know you want me to shut up and I'm going to shut up, but I want to say a few more words. So then, we say, Brother Pike, what are you talking about? I say again that the difference between believing and faith, believing is to believe anything, faith is by the hearing of the Word of God. And the Bible said in the last days many shall depart from the Word of God. That is, believing in the Word of God, which is faith. Though many will religiously believe. Even devils will believe there is a God. So then, I am saying that if we want healing we've got to claim the healing. We've got to start saying, Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thank you, God, for my health and my happiness that I'm enjoying today. And the old carnal mind that wars against the inner mind of Christ will say, Oh, you know that ain't true. You know you ain't happy. You know__ That's got nothing to do with it. Drown it out completely until your heart leaps for joy in full confidence, as it was with Abraham, being fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able also to perform. See? Fully persuaded. You keep on working with your heart. You keep on working with your mind. Keep on doing the things that God commanded you to do and after awhile it will all be effective in your life. The Bible said that if you desire anything believe that you receive it and you shall have it. But you've got to believe first that you have received it and then it will become effective. So then, you call all of those things lying vanities. Lying vanities. I'm going to tell this one little thing. I've said it many times in my life. I'm just going to say this one little thing and close. Many wonderful things I have seen in my life. Many miraculous things. But I never will forget when my little Dale__ You've heard me tell it numbers of times. When her little mouth was twisted up, and had a stroke of some kind in her mouth and the children were making fun of her, and going to school. And I ask God to heal it and it wasn't healed. And the Lord said, Son, by My stripes you have all that you desire. And the Bible said, I have given you all things that pertain unto life. You've already got them. He said, And if you'll call the thing a lying vanity it will go away. So I prayed and I__ Every time she'd come in from school I'd look at it and I'd say, Well, the devil don't have any victory; it ain't there no more. It's gone. And the devil would say, Well, you see that. I'd say, Oh, no, that's a lying vanity there. God's Word is just what it says; everything is fine. In a day or two she came home and it was gone completely. Gone. I said, Gone completely. It's never come back anymore. Numbers and numbers of times we've done those things. But you've got to persuade yourself. Convince your heart. Convince your heart that it is absolutely like God said, that you're not just saying lying vanity, when down in your heart you think you're seeing the same thing, but you really know in your heart that God heard your prayer, that it's just exactly like His Word said. And the think is a lying vanity and there is no way it can remain. It has to pass away. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the Word of God is for sure. When you stand on it, it doesn't matter what it is, it will get out of your way. Draw nigh to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. All right. As we've born the image of the earthly then we're coming into the image of the heavenly and this is a transformating of the mind to the ultimatum of being one with our Heavenly Father. Let's stand together. I appreciate your kind attention tonight. Remember, you don't go around begging God to do things. You go around giving glory to God because He hath done things. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord, and those that are the called according to His purpose. So if you want your healing, if you want salvation, if you want strength, you want power in your life, you want to overcome, you want God to meet your needs go forth giving Him glory for what He hath done for you. Thanking Him for what He hath done for you. The Bible said, all of these things, that is to the contrary of God's desire, come upon us because we serve not the Lord with gladness of heart, to have joy, to have jubilance, to settle it in our hearts that we are completely whole, we are completely blessed. We are one and all in Him for everything as all things that pertain unto life, to give Him joy or to give Him praise, to enjoy these things by faith. By faith. Not as to a future event. Faith is not as to a future event. Let me say this to you. Someone would say, Well, Brother Pike, didn't Abraham have to wait for the promise? He did, because the promise was set as to a certain date. At the time of life I shall return unto Sarah, He said. So then, Abraham believe until that time, as to the time of life. As to expectancy at that hour for his faith to bring him his desire. See? But in Christ all of these things are as of now. Not as of yesterday, or tomorrow, but as of now. God is not the God of yesterday, or the God of tomorrow for there is no tomorrow with God, and there is no yesterday with God. You have the messages on tape where I prove that, but God is a present help in the time of need. God is now. He is as of now. Right now. All right. Let's sing a little chorus together. I thank God for His wonderful blessings. I thank God for keeping me healthy and whole. I thank God for watching after me. Someone would say, Well, don't you ever have any problems, Brother Pike? The Bible said the afflictions of the righteous are many. I don't think the devil has hardly got anything he hasn't tried on me at one time or another. But what has that got to do with it? See? What's that got to do with it? As I told a Brother today, we're passing through the realms of oppression and the great oppression of Satan is coming down and the beginning of sorrows. And the Bible said, in that hour, the hour of tribulation it's going to trouble you. It's going to come and you've got to pass through it. And you're passing from earthly realms, as to garlic and onions, over into the heavenly places, as to the land of Canaan, fruits of Eshcol time. And you are passing through these realms of oppression and sorrow. And God said, I will shake everything that can be shaken. If your faith can be shaken, if you can be shaken then God is going to shake you. It is the hour of the shaking. God is going to shake you a loose. Great men out on the field are falling. They are falling. These things of Oral Roberts, and Jimmy Swaggart and many other problems that different ones have. I noticed across a magazine today as I passed by, says it is suspected that other, other preachers, television preachers, it said, are in the same condition. They are now suspecting this and they are now on their trail. See? He is shaking everything that can be shaken. If Satan can shake you God is going to give Him a chance to shake you and the wandering stars that are only reflectors are going to fall because they are going to become guilty of iniquity. But if by faith in God you trust in Him, you look to Him, you trust in His merits, you trust in His love, you do the best you can, you'll never be shaken. You'll never fall. These things, these things won't touch you, because he that is born of God keepeth himself and the evil one toucheth him not. Neither shall you ever come into condemnation. So then, it is the shaking hour and it is the great hour of tribulation. I will keep him from that hour that is coming upon the world to try all of them that dwell on the earth, because they have kept my Word. To keep His Word. Faith in His Word is the answer for the whole situation. To fear God, Solomon said, and to keep His commandments if the sum of the whole matter. Let's sing a little chorus, can we? (Singing) Sing it with me now. (Singing) Sing it with me. (Singing) Sing it with me. (Singing) You love the Lord? Let's give Him a hand. God is good. There is none good but God. The songs that we write we write them because we are inspired of the Lord. Brother Taylor sings the song, I've Changed My Mind. After you walk with Jesus a little while you change your mind about the things of the world. You don't feel the same anymore. The Lord will give you a song. He'll put a song in your heart and He'll turn your heart and affections toward Him. Whereas, the Bible says set your affections on things above, where thieves don't break through and where moths doesn't corrupt, for wherever your treasures are, He said, your heart will be there also. Let's sing another chorus, can we? Let's sing the song, I Love Him. (Singing) The altars are open. (Singing) Can you sing it with me? (Singing) Let's sing this little chorus, can we? (Singing) Sing it with me. (Singing) Sing it again. (Singing) Can you sing it again? (Singing) One more time. (Singing) Can you sing it with me again? (Singing) Just one more time. (Singing) Somebody say amen. You know it's wonderful to come together and sing a few choruses together from night to night. Worship the Lord, renew our faith in God, learn more about Jesus and more of how to believe in the Son of God. What a wonderful blessing you have. What a wonderful thing you have if you can believe. Jesus said, if thou canst believe but we....(tape two, side two.) faith. But the Bible teaches that we frustrate the grace of God. We frustrate the grace of God. Paul said to Peter one time, I'm not going to frustrate the grace of God. I'm just not going to do it. The way it is, Peter, that's the way it is. And that's the way that we've got to see it. If the Word said it that way, then that's the way that it is. And if you want to be mighty in God you can. You can. You can be mighty in God. Mighty. The Bible said John the Baptist was great. None greater in that day than John the Baptist. So you can be great. The Bible says concerning Gideon, Oh, thou mighty man of valor. And it said concerning Daniel, Oh, beloved man of God. And it said concerning Abraham, faithful father Abraham. So then, we can be great and mighty in God but to do that you've got to believe the Word. You've got to be positive in everything you do, everything you say. There is no such thing as you not running into afflictions. There is no such thing as you not running into problems. There is no such thing as the devil not disturbing you; he's going to do it. But you've got to be positive. You can't be negative. You've got to stand right there. Right there and God will do the job. I never will forget standing down here one day when they gave the report. Said, the tornadoes are headed this way, and I raised up my hand while the radio was saying it and I said, In the name of Jesus you will turn and go another way. And all of a sudden the radio said, something is happening; the tornado has turned and it's headed in another direction. God had showed me the vision where I held up my hands. And when the tornadoes hit in series and killed people in this area, sometimes__ They said there was seven at one time in this area, tearing houses down. It dismantled brick home right near by, but the Lord, in the vision, said, hold up your hands. I raised up my hands and when I raised up my hands the tornadoes went over. And when those tornadoes came, I never will forget, standing out here when everything turned dark and these two pillars on the porch, the end pillars shot out from under the porch like toothpicks, just that quick and God said, this is it, raise your hands. And I raised my hands and I said, Oh, God, spare the children. Because that's what I was saying, or something similar to that in the vision. And the thing just went swoosh, over this place. And you know how it set down over here, the next road or two. It swept a turkey farm. It just tore everything up and just swept the man clean, in that he had said something about Little Bethlehem. And I never will forget, even they announced over the radio how that we had done here and even the man that lost out in the turkey farm said, Tell that preacher to hold his hands up long enough for it to get over my place next time. So God will help us. When we believe God will help us. I want you to lift your hands up with me. I like for you to life your hands up. And I know that lifting my hands up that day__ You know, lifting our hands up reminds God of the crucifixion of the Son of God, in that we are bone of His bone and flesh of his flesh. And when they held Moses hands up, Moses won the battle. So let's hold our hands up together to God tonight. While we've got our hands up let's call on the name of the Lord Jesus and ask Him to give us that wonderful boldness to come before the throne of grace boldly in the time of need that we might receive the help that we want, and to pray for others, our children, our loved ones, whatever it might be and God to give us faith to believe, to prosper, to be blessed that we might reach around the world in world evangelism to help the needy and the lost. Folks, right now is a real time of desperation. You've got a chance to shine like you've never had a chance in all of your life. With all of these reflectors falling from heaven. With all of the stars falling from heaven. With all of the ministers and these other people, you've got a chance now, because you've got God. You've got a real thing. You've got real godliness in your heart. You've got a chance to outshine everything right now. Stand up for God. Stand up for God. The evil one can't touch you. You've got all power over him. Accept that power. Don't go to praying and say, I'm going to get it. I'm going to get it. That ain't got nothing to do with it. God has got it. Don't forget. When we were down in South America, I'll never for get this, in Central America it was. While we were down there I walked over to the city and there at the corner drug store, I was standing there. You remember it real well. I heard the man on the corner, he was singing out. He was saying, Extra. Extra. You know, read all about it. Devils in such a village and it bit the people and all the things that were happening, you know. And I was standing there saying, My God, what in the world is this. And I ask a friend of mine, What is this? And a man walked up. He said, There's devils and demons out here and in this village. He told the horrible night mare it was it there and, he said, we've got a group of people and we're praying and fasting right now so that we can get in shape to go our there and cast those devils out. And I turned to my Brother in Christ. I said, It ain't no time to fast and pray. I said, It's time to go out there and cast the devils out. And I got in the car with somebody, I got my wife and went out there. You remember, we drove_ It was way, way, way back out there in the hill country and when we got there they had the best doctors in that whole country out there, and the nurses and whatever. And when we got out there that thing attacked one of my__ I don't know whether it was my wife, or one of the children. I don't remember. You've heard me tell it before I ever got out of the car and I rebuked the devil. And we got out and we got in those places there and I began to pray, and we began to rebuke the devil. And, of course, the doctors they didn't understand that kind of thing and we rebuked the devil. And then when we left we went back and it wasn't but a day, or two, long in the same place when they were singing out extra, extra, read all about it. Devils have departed from the village and the people are all right. I've still got the paper here. As a matter of fact, they brought a paper home. It's in that language, but they brought a paper home that carried it. So I said that to say this. You've got power over all the powers of the devils, and the enemies, and if you'll accept it now, don't go to trying to get power, believe in His strength. Be strong in His might. Be strong in His righteousness. Be strong in His power. Thank God for what He has already done for you in giving you all things that pertain unto life, and go forth rejoicing in what you already have in Christ Jesus. Because, folks, I'm telling you, it's already yours in Christ Jesus and the only way to enjoy it is to start spending your money. If you've got it in the bank, you know, just preparing to someday spend it it isn't going to be any good. But when you are going to have the joy and benefits of it is when you start spending the money. So let's start spending some money for God. I can feel the Holy Ghost just talking about it. Enjoying our portion in God, and our inheritance in God, and all that He's given us, and let's just thank Him and just run over with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Just run over with it, because that's who you are. You are His bone and flesh. You're His children. You are rich. You are exceedingly rich. The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow, and God has abundantly made you rich, exceedingly rich, with all heavenly blessings in heavenly places that you should rejoice forever more. So lift up your hands and start enjoying in believing, saying, Oh, Lord, as I think in my heart so am I, and I think I am Yours and You are mine and I'm rich in Christ. He's blessed me and I'm clean and holy because of You and the devils can't touch me because I love You and You love me. Hallelujah! You're watching over me. Praise God! Let's give Him one more hand then lift up our hands, close our eyes and let God bless us tonight. Can you do that? Can you do that tonight? All right. I'm going to ask little Micah if he'll come up here. Micah was a prophet in the Bible back there in the old times, and he really prophesied against evil. So as little Micah comes. He's a very faithful person to help us. As he comes to pray with you tonight, we love you. As a Brother in Christ we love you. If there's anything that we can do to help you at anytime we want to do it. But let me tell you this. Don't confess weakness. Don't confess sickness. Don't confess defeat. It's going to talk with you but remember Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the High Priest of your confession. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness and confession unto salvation is made from the lips. And did you know when Noah went over that was salvation. That means deliverance. So you confess. You confess with your lips His Word and think His thoughts and believe exactly what He said, and cast down every thought until every thought of your human person is gone and all is brought into subjection to His thinking, that you're strong in the power of His might. That you are clean. That by His stripes you've been healed and that you have now all power over the power of the enemy. If you have His Spirit His Spirit is power over all the powers of the enemy. For the Bible said, when you receive the Holy Ghost ye shall receive power. The original rendering is that when you receive It you receive power right then. So then, let's receive power. Let's receive power. Let's receive power. Let's receive His Spirit for His Spirit has power over all the powers of the enemy. Micah.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christ’s Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord